The Good Atheist's Blog (15)

Alright, you guys in Ireland need to get your shit together. When reading this article on a proposed “Defamation Bill“, I had failed to realize that it was already a crime to defame religion in your Republic. The problem is, of course, that the very concept of “freedom of speech” conflicts with any special provisions meant to protect religion. Apparently, having +90% of your population actual believers… Continue

There’s an interesting article here that argues that there is, in fact, no religious right. The arguments are convincing; it does sound at first glance that there has been an over simplification on whether or not a discernable movement is actually present. It would seem illogical to assume that there are secret clandestine meetings involving hundreds of pastors and clergymen, all agreeing on the best course of action… Continue

I must have been asleep the last few days, because I could have sworn that the US was facing one of the worst financial crisis in it’s history, accompanied by two wars that are not going very swimmingly. It’s must be all fixed, since a group of Senators are busy trying to get the motto “In God We Trust” up in the new Capital Visitor Center in Washington.

I mentioned before that many individuals believe in religion because of what they perceive to be logical reasons, and it is often based on the illusion of design, both here on earth, and in the cosmos in general. The Universe, as far as we can observe, seems to be both extremely complex and mysterious at first glance. Here on earth, the complexity of life is staggering; in a handful of dirt, there are million of… Continue

Yesterday, I argued that the selective advantage of belief was too attractive for individuals in a community not to partake. But this advantage, as humans became more prosperous in the West, became increasingly marginal. In the 15th century, Europe began to experience new found prosperity from the most unusual source: the aftermath of the Black Death.

When trying to explain how religion came about, we must undoubtedly answer the question of it came together, since although human beings are social animals, the act of creating a stable institution is an extreme rarity. Consider how many cults come and go; obviously, even if there is a fundamental need to be religious, there must be some explanation as to why humans would continue to participate and develop their… Continue

I’m not always the most positive and easy going guy around. I’ve been known to kick some dust in the faces of my opposition. When you’re in a fight, particularly one for the hearts and minds of your fellow human beings, you can sometimes lose sight of how the conflict changes you.

I came across this website, “Charter for Compassion”, which is the latest attempt by religious moderates to extend an olive branch to other religions in the hope of curbing fundamentalism. The site asks for people to discuss stories of compassion that they have experienced in their lives. I believe it is their hope to communicate through these stories the idea that all people share the need for acts of… Continue

In a small village in Nigeria, a little boy of 5 years of age is frightened and confused. His mother and father have abandoned him; their normally loving embrace will never be felt again. The other villagers are angry, and some of them throw stones at him. He does not cry. Part of him has accepted her fate, and the dejection of his loved ones is enough to make the boy numb. The only question in his mind is how… Continue

Question: The Old Testament quite clearly states that the Israelites were ordered by God to kill the Canaanites. Ever man, woman and child was to be slaughtered. If this story is historical truth, and God really did issue this command, is he not then admonishing genocide?

This is the very same question asked of Dr. Willian Craig, a research professor of… Continue

Imagine every Nobel winning scientists went on record to say that a giant asteroid was headed for planet Earth, and that in 30 years, it would impact, killing all life on the planet. How many people would go on television and say that more data needed to be collected before we took action? How many would claim that asteroid impacts are a natural part of the… Continue

I’ve written on the subject of an organized atheist movement for years now. The responce so far, overwhelmingly from many atheists, is that such a movement would violate the notion that atheism is not a religion, but rather a particular viewpoint about the non existence God. Over this same period of time, however, a number of individuals have emailed me… Continue

Many of you might be wondering why, in the past few days,. I’ve been writing as much as I have on gay rights. Although it’s true that the site is primarily about atheism, my reaction to the blatant and shocking disregard for this minority obliges me to continue to write on their behalf.

Imagine you have an apple pie and that there are six people that want a piece. It seems obvious that if you’re a fair person, you would go ahead and divide the pie in six equal pieces. This is how small groups of individuals make compromises that allow each person to have an equal opportunity, in… Continue